from cost u less, just get back onto weymouth rhymer highway - turn left onto it (is that the 38 you're talking about?) and at the entrance to tutu park mall, get into the right lane... turn right onto 32 and take it all the way to red hook. you'll go through an industrial area, a residential and marina area on the way. you will also pass "the food center" and a domino gas station on your left. the water will be to your right, but there's mangroves and bush so you won't see much of it. you will pass the national guard armory on the left. keep going. you'll pass the eudora kean high school and you'll be very close to red hook then.

the red hook dock is to your right just past american yacht harbor, a multistory building containing restaurants and shops. i assume you are taking the car barge, that will be the second entrance to the dock. have fun on st. john.

since i am not the best with directions, i don't mind someone looking these over to make sure our guests don't end up in timbuktu! i do a lot of this from memory since our signage is not the best in all areas...

It's six of one and half dozen of the other where distance is concerned but I think continuing on Rte 38 is a much easier drive than taking Rte 32 with its greater abundance of potholes and twisty turns! Turn left out of CULess and when you get to Tutu Park Mall and the first set of lights, stay in the middle lane. Continue straight and you'll go through another set of lights and then at the next set of lights turn right to continue on Rte 38.

Stay on Rte 38 all the way into Red Hook (you'll go past Wyndham Sugar Bay, Point Pleasant, Sapphire all on your left) and the ferry terminal will be on your left. Take the first entrance on the left and that'll take you to the car barge.

As a side note to Anita about the signage or lack thereof I think it's fair to note that the problem we locals have is not even KNOWING the route numbers. I felt like a real idiot over Christmas when I went to have dinner with friends at Mahogany Run which is only 10-15 minutes from my place. On the way back out I somehow took a wrong turn and ended up driving in the dark all over the North side, hopelessly lost and just couldn't get my bearings at all. There were route numbers plastered all over but they were of absolutely no use to me. When I finally reached E&M Grocery it was a major "OOPS!" to realize how far off track I'd wandered. I turned around and finally got back to base after having taken, "The Long Way Home"!!! What a duh.

Cheers, Anita, Happy New Year and - to emtjen enjoy your visit!

LOL STT Resident, Grand-Poobah of VINOW. I'm guessing libations were involved in that incident. But I will admit to some driving while day-dreaming during broad daylight a few years ago in open countryside near our home, and I approached a familiar intersection from an unfamiliar direction. When I stopped at the stop sign, I came out of my daydream and had NO IDEA where I was. I sat there for a few moments, then took a turn and drove two more miles in a mild panic before I figured out where I was. I thought I had lost my mind or was having a stroke or something. So I can see how it happened in your case. But you have to admit the road signs in STT are small, poorly placed, often hidden by vines or knocked down by other drivers for years. The color coded signs for us tourists with guide maps are a help.

sttresident, because of the job i do, actually, i do know the route numbers in most cases, but they do me not much good when i am following a road with signs that say "whatever number - west", only to have all traces of this signage disappear within 5 minutes of the journey. to count on these, not good for me.

plus, i have a terrible sense of direction and i do better by sight and feel.

you are right, to go via smith bay road or via mariendahl/frydenhoj, i don't think there's much difference in time or perhaps distance. i just prefer to get right onto the route with no lights and less traffic.

that's just me personally. it's not the most scenic route for a visitor!

blaze wrote:
LOL STT Resident, Grand-Poobah of VINOW. I'm guessing libations were involved in that incident.

Actually that's why I felt such an idiot as all I had was two small glasses of wine and a huge dinner! As the years advance I'm less inclined to drive at night and more often than not have someone pick me up - a practice which I obviously shouldn't diverge from! Cheers!

Thank you Grand Poohbah LOL and Anita. You both are very helpful. The last two times I have taken the car ferry it has been dark and we didn't have time to get provisions on STT. This time "flight pending" we will be arriving early giving us time to get groceries and enjoy STT for a bit. I really wanted to stay at caneel or frenchman on stt this year but husband and kids out ruled me by 4 and are eager to stay at maho bay. We love to camp here in the states so we love what maho offers too. I just wanted a little more pampering this time as we are celebrating my 30th. Plus we have a new addition who will be one at our time of travel. However I look on the bright side and appreciate the fact that this may very well be the last time we get to go there with the lease being in limbo. Plus my 7 year old told me he would rather go there than disney anyday. So I am very thankful for that. It tells me he is appreciating the important things in life. He said disney you can't see nature and god's gifts to us, so I want to go to Maho. I melted and said ok you guys win, Maho it is!:-) I appreciate it that we here in the states live in such a busy way that down there they can't really stop and appreciate what is around them. No where else have we traveled where the people, and the weather are so warm:-) Maybe someday someone can ask me for directions!!! Lotto here I come!!! LOL!!! For now we just appreciate our yearly visits. Thank you all again for your help. Happy new year to you all.